Cider Review: McKenzie's Lazy Lemon

McKenzies Hard Cider is produced in New York State south of Buffalo in West Seneca. I reviewed the flagship cider from this brand earlier in the summer. You can can see a more complete brand intro and how that cider fared here. You can also find out some information about the brand from their own website.

Here's what they say about themselves, "McKenzie’s Hard Cider was founded in 2011 by Lenny Ciolek in Buffalo, New York. Lenny played a crucial role in the success of the Mike’s Hard Lemonade brand and was able to secure distribution for McKenzie’s utilizing existing relationships and a grassroots method of marketing. McKenzie’s currently produces 5 different varieties of hard cider; Original, Black Cherry, Green Apple, Seasonal Reserve (cinnamon and nutmeg) and Lazy Lemon (lemonade blend). Its varieties have received several awards including Double Gold Medal for Black Cherry, and Silver Medals for Original and Green Apple at the 2012 New York Wine & Food Classic. McKenzie’s can be found at a bar near you, or at Wegmans and Tops grocery stores, where it is the best‐selling hard cider." Now that I live in Ithaca, that Wegmans reference has a whole new meaning for me. It is the grocery chain of the region and much beloved. (For my Florida friends, people here love Wegmans as much as Floridians love Publix.)

Today I'm reviewing McKenzie's Lazy Lemon. This is definitely the first lemon cider I've seen for sale, but many ciders have citrus notes, so the pairing is fairly logical. Furthermore, I've enjoyed shandies, a mix of beer and lemonade served ice cold, and this could well be the cider answer to a shandy. Informed by these two associations, I have hope that this will surpass many of the six-pack ciders I've tried lately.

Their product description is more playful than informative, but I'll share it here since it has disappeared from the official website for the year. "Pucker up! You're going to love this little tart. Lazy Lemon has a burst of citrus without the acidic bite, giving long carefree days a zesty punch of refreshing flavor. Serve Chilled. Kick back and enjoy often."

Color and Appearance: Brilliant, fresh corn

When poured I see almost no visible bubbles in the Lazy Lemon. It has a lovely pale color, almost like fresh corn on the cob. The clarity, as the picture suggests is brilliant. You could read text through this easily.

Aromas: musty, lemon, minerals

The cider gives off a genuinely intriguing aroma. It smells very pleasantly rocky and citrusy. Rather like some white wines. So far, my hopes are not disappointed.

Sweetness: Sweet!

The Lazy Lemon is sweet like lemonade. It left my mouth a bit sticky like lemonade also.

Flavors: Boozy lemon soda

I'm tempted to just leave it at that. It doesn't taste like apple or cider. The Lazy Lemon is easy on the carbonation, which is a plus. It has some mild tartness that cuts the sweetness pleasantly, but that could be stronger. It really does taste like a slightly boozy sparkling lemonade.

Drinking Experience: Needs ice

Ice actually helps mend the level of sweetness, so I'd say break the traditional cider rules. Pour this one on ice if you want to enjoy a the Lazy Lemon at its best. It isn't very cidery, so I'm not sure the rules really apply.

The other two things you could do are either add a scoop of super tart sorbet or gelato and just turn it into a float or get a lager and make a shandy-esque lemon + cider + beer blend. If anyone tries either of these, please comment and let me know.

Cider Review Doc's Draft Cranberry Spice

This is probably far later than anyone was expecting to see a review of a holiday cider, but I ran into this at a New York wine store randomly the other night. We happened to have a cold drizzly night not long after, and I felt like I could really enjoy something both fruity and spicy.

I've reviewed Doc's Draft and written a bit about their brand before, http://alongcameacider.blogspot.com/2013/01/cider-review-docs-draft-hard-apple-cider.html Here is a link to their cider page: http://wvwinery.com/cider/ but to stay up to date on their news, I'd suggest their Facebook page instead: https://www.facebook.com/docshardcider?fref=ts

The Cranberry Spice is their winter seasonal, and I looked for it casually for months before catching one in May. Here's what they say about their own special flavor, "A unique, hand-crafted holiday spiced hard cider. Made from pressed NY state apples, fresh cranberries and spices fermented with champagne yeast and malice acid to excite the action." I'm curious what the very unspecified spiced blend will include, let's find out.

ABV: 6%



Color and appearance: clear dark pink

When poured, this cider gives a brief appearance of a head that dissipates quickly. Lots of visible bubbles all along the glass at first but these too disappear quickly. The color is lovely.

Aroma: Spice! Cranberry and a surprising hint of wintergreen

The scents of baked goods, especially cinnamon, dominate the cider. I did not smell much apple or fruit, but I did note a secondary element of wintergreen in the spice. A nice wintery smell that does make me think of holiday celebration more than a cool spring night.

Sweet to dry: semi-sweet

The cranberry makes the sweetness very different from most ciders. The sweet and tart come together to keep it from being a true sweet. The Sweet-tart candies actually show some pleasant similarities here.

Flavors and drinking experience: punch-like, tart

This is a beverage more than a cider. Between the cranberry and the spice, there is not much apple flavor. Some cider drinkers would find this to be a fault. I think it merely specifies what this cider is. It is a cider-based punch. Very appropriate for winter parties.

Finish: sour candied apple

The finish on this cider continues to keep sweetness and tartness absolutely side by side and feels like a sour apple candy finish with a shadow underneath of minerals.

Pairs with: Creaminess! Tofurkey! Parties! Though I might have enjoyed this on the last cool night of spring, it truly is a winter cider. I'd drink it with foods with cream sauces. My husband's side of the family (shout out to the amazing Reeds, Laytons, and Troys who share this with me every year) makes Béarnaise sauce a special part of Christmas dinner and I think this could taste very very good with the rich herbed butteriness of Béarnaise sauce. For more info on this wonderful sauce: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9arnaise_sauce

As far as ideal activities, take this to an office holiday party; it will be an excellent conversation starter and add something genuinely pleasant and bright to a mix that may or may not be satisfying on its own.

In Conclusion, the Doc's Draft Cranberry Spice's strength of cranberry and spice notes make it really unusually. So unusual that it tastes not very much like a cider, but tasty nonetheless. I enjoyed it for a treat, but I doubt I could make this a staple.

Double-Rising Sweet Cider Bread: A Story About One Very Forgiving Recipe

 

We’ve all heard what to do when life gives us lemons, but what about when life gives us some very dubious hard cider? This is the story of how I asked a well-tried beer bread recipe to endure a few modifications—and it came through for me like a champ.

The afternoon wasn’t getting any less rainy, and the thin, oversweetened Michelob Cider in the fridge wasn’t magically going to become tasty on its own, so it was time to salvage it with a simple backing project.

Here’s how my in-laws make beer bread. First pour a bottle of room temperature beer into bowl with 3 cups of all-purpose flour, 1/2 of a cup of granulated sugar, and a tablespoon each of baking powder and salt. Stir gently until it becomes a thick batter with no powder remaining. Preheat a loaf pan with about an ounce of butter in the bottom. Pour the dough into this hot loaf pan. This gives off the most satisfying sizzle when you spoon the dough into the hot buttered pan Then put a few pad of butter onto the top of the dough before closing the oven door. This lovely stuff gets baked at 375 for about 45 minutes.

Using the cider would be modification #1. I began by letting the guilty cider sit and sweat, reaching room temperature, while I gathered ingredients. As luck would have it, my loaf pan was missing (I like to think it’s partying somewhere with several single socks).  This led to modification #2: I used a brownie pan instead, which means a shorter baking time. The rain on my kitchen window reminded me that humidity can be the nemesis of rising bread, so I added a pinch more baking powder—modification #3. My dough then grew much thicker than cake batter but looser than typical bread dough. Into the oven it went, and a light-colored, cake-like bread emerged 35 minutes later.

Once it cooled, I cut it into generous portions. My husband and I ate it with sharp cheddar cheese, and he raved over the apple-y taste and surprisingly fluffy texture. Only then did I realize that I’d added that extra baking powder to what was already self-rising flour! Oops. Modification #4. My in-laws’ beer bread recipe is forgiving as my oft-dropped but always functional cell phone. My doubly-rising sweet cider bread was delicious. It would make a perfect substitution for coffee cake, with its soft crumbly texture and its breakfast-ready sweetness.